This invention relates to the art of electrical outlet boxes and, more particularly, to improvements in enabling an electrical outlet box to be mounted in openings of walls of various thicknesses and with the open front of the box being essentially flush with the front face of the wall as is frequently required by building and electrical codes.
Although the invention will be described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment of an electrical outlet box having a resilient metal clamp associated therewith, it is to be appreciated that other materials may conceivably be used.
Electrical outlet boxes are mounted in position in a wall having an opening therein and various devices have been provided for securing the electrical box to the wall. Frequently the box must be installed in an existing wall having an opening therein so that the box may be inserted into the wall to the desired position. When so located it is necessary to render a clamping or holding mechanism operative to maintain the box in position and such holding means must be capable of being operated from the front of the box when positioned in the wall opening.
There have been various proposals made for securing devices attached to such electrical boxes whereby a box may be inserted into an existing opening and then the securing device may be operated from the front of the box to clamp the box to the wall structure. However, these are typically awkward devices and frequently either the securing device or the electrical outlet box must be destroyed in order to remove the outlet box once having been clamped into position. Moreover, these securing devices are frequently bulky and awkward and frequently require that the opening be enlarged beyond that needed to service only the box in order to accommodate the securing device.